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Living ships are an unnamed, shapeshifting, carnivorous spaceborne species, known to reside in an unknown part of space beyond the Milky Way.
Biology[]
The interior of a living ship closing in for the kill
Living ships are large spaceborne shapeshifters, able to pass off as spacecraft capable of holding multiple occupants. They are able to perfectly replicate the appearance of machinery, forming empty cavities within themselves and replicas of control terminals, although it is unknown if they are functional. It is known that they can create access hatches that are fully functional and interior lighting. Their spacecraft forms are known to resemble yellow oblong ships with a long fin protruding from their backsides. It is unknown if they are able to take on forms other than spacecraft, or what their true form looks like. Despite living in the vacuum of space, they appear to breathe, denoted by a pulsating throb in their interiors, which could be mistaken for the hum of an engine. While appearing and feeling like metal, and able to change colors, the substance that makes up the shapeshifters' bodies, at least internally, is truly a thick black substance. Rather than attack prey, they will lure prey into their interiors by appearing to be an abandoned luxury ship, implying that they prey on intelligent beings, and are possibly sapient themselves. Once prey is within the living ship, the walls will literally close in on them, crushing and digesting them. It is unknown how living ships move through space, if they even can move aside from drifting, although they may be able to create functional engines to do so.
History[]
In the mid-20th century, an alien named Krag was deployed from his home galaxy to scout out Earth for an invasion. However, after flying for two days, he came across a living ship in deep space, disguised as an abandoned luxury ship. Krag, wanting to capture the ship for his people, quickly boarded it, but was shocked to see that the ship was completely devoid of crew. While he tried to figure out what was going on, the living ship moved in for the kill, and Krag realized the "engine hum" was actually the ship breathing, as the walls revealed their true form as a black substance, closing in on Krag and crushing him. Due to the ship killing Krag, his species' planned invasion of Earth was aborted.
Appearances[]
- Tales to Astonish Vol 1 #5 (1959)